LAMAR — Warriors senior Zach Dossett came up with the biggest play of the night when he blocked what would have been a game-tying point-after kick midway through the fourth quarter to preserve Lamar’s hard-fought 28-27 victory over the visiting Atkins Red Devils in 3A-4 Conference play on Friday night.

Neither team could pull away and never led by more than eight points, but the Warriors prevailed despite blowing a 7-point halftime lead.

Atkins (5-3-1, 3-3 3A-4) got things started on its opening drive with a 10-play, 52-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Alex Duvall at the 7:33 mark to give the Red Devils an early 7-0 lead, following the PAT from kicker Dylan Isom.

Lamar (5-3-1, 4-2) took over and looked to be in striking distance following a 30-yard pass from Jordan Haas to Jalen Chenault to the Atkins 11. However, the play was called back on a holding penalty and Lamar was forced to punt after failing to convert a third-and-26 opportunity.

The Red Devils took over at their 46 after a punt from Haas, but Atkins turned the ball over on downs four plays later after quarterback Ty Ennis was sacked in the backfield on fourth-and-2 by Shane Sinor and Nick Williams.

The Warriors started the next drive at their 39, and Haas capitalized seven plays later with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Chenault down the left sideline. Haas converted the PAT with 55 seconds left in the first quarter and the game was tied 7-7.

The Red Devils ran into some trouble on their first drive in the second quarter, facing fourth-and-long from their own 37. But quarterback Ennis found wideout Payton Hernandez over the middle for 21 yards for a first down at the Lamar 16. Just two plays later, Ennis found a wide-open Konner Johnson in the front-right corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Isom tacked on the PAT and Atkins took a 14-7 lead with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter.

On the Warriors next possession, Haas tried to go deep to Chenault again but he was picked off by defensive back Hayden Shockley, who ran it back to the Red Devils 40 before being brought down. Atkins faced a third-and-goal opportunity from the 2, but a facemask penalty against the visiting team pushed the ball back to the 17. The Lamar defense came up with a big stop on fourth down as Ennis’ pass over the middle fell incomplete with 5:47 left in the half.

The Warriors retained possession at their 17 and embarked on a 6-play, 83-yard drive capped with a 7-yard touchdown run by Haas. The PAT attempt was no good, and the Red Devils held a slim 14-13 lead with 2:32 left in the second quarter.

Atkins didn’t take long to respond. Hernandez found paydirt just 22 seconds later on a screen pass from Ennis to give the Red Devils a 21-13 advantage.

With 2:05 left in the half, Lamar used seven plays to drive 87 yards before running back Justus Williams punched it in from 12-yards out with 47 seconds left on the clock. Williams ran it in for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 21-21.

On the Atkins’ ensuing drive, Ennis was picked off with just over 30 seconds left by defensive back Forest Damron. The Warriors preceded to drive 60 yards in 29 seconds and Justice Williams tallied his second rushing score of the night with a 4-yard touchdown scamper with 3.8 seconds left in the half. Heading to the break, Lamar held a 28-21 lead.

As the third quarter began, temperatures continued to drop and both teams struggled to throw the ball. Both teams relied almost exclusively on their ground games. Likewise, neither squad put points on the board, and the third quarter ended with Lamar maintaining a 28-21 lead.

The Red Devils finally tacked on another score at the 8:58 mark of the fourth, driving 51 yards on six plays before Shockley ran it in from 7 yards out. Dossett came up with the games biggest play on senior night when he blocked the ensuing PAT to preserve a 28-27 lead.

After the ensuing kickoff, Atkins made one final push, driving 69 yards on 10 plays, but Isom’s 38-yard field goal attempt was no good with just under a minute left.

Haas took a knee to run off the last 35 seconds to finish the game and put the Warriors in the driver’s seat for the No. 3 position in the 3A-4 Conference. Lamar will face Paris and Atkins will host Perryville next week, but the Warriors hold the tie-breaker.